Abstract
The Quercus leucotrichophora, commonly known as the Banj-oak in Uttarakhand, Indian Himalaya, provides a large number of ecosystem services to the people of Himalaya. However, due to the unavailability of direct flux observations, sub-daily to seasonal-scale variability of the Banj-oak ecosystem biosphere-atmosphere carbon exchanges have not been studied in detail. To address this lacuna, this study presents the first-time eddy covariance-based observations of carbon exchanges of a Banj-oak-dominated vegetation of western Himalaya. The carbon exchanges and atmospheric parameters were measured from 1 March, 2020, to 30 November, 2020, using a 10 m eddy covariance tower at Gangolihat, Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand (80.02°E, 29.39°N). The high-frequency carbon exchange data were quality checked and converted to daily net ecosystem exchange (NEE), gross primary productivity (GPP), and ecosystem respiration (RE). The variability of NEE, GPP, and RE was evaluated for the pre-monsoon (March–May), monsoon (June–September), and post-monsoon (October–November) seasons. Additionally, relationships between NEE and meteorological parameters (air temperature, PPFD, and VPD), the major controlling factors of plant photosynthesis, were analysed. Results of our analysis indicated that the Banj-oak-dominated vegetation were a net sink of CO2 having a carbon uptake of 610.1 gCm−2 during the 275 days of 2020. The highest amount of NEE was noted for the pre-monsoon season (−2.72 gC.m−2.day−1), followed by monsoon (−1.96 gC.m−2.day−1) and post-monsoon seasons (−1.95 gC.m−2.day−1). The relationships between meteorological parameters and NEE indicated a higher NEE coupling of post-monsoon season due to lesser rainfall activities, resulting to limited changes in the relationships between air temperature, radiation, and VPD.
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Acknowledgement
The flux tower of Gangolihat, Pithoragarh, India, was established through a research grant from NMSHE-TF3(Phase-1) and is maintained through NMSHE-TF3(Phase-2), Govt. of India. P. Lohani, S. Mukherjee, and K. Chandra Sekar are grateful to NMHS-MoEFCC, Govt. of India, for providing a research grant for analysing the oak system data (GBPI/NMHS-2019-20/MG62/04, 2019) for this study.
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Lohani, P., Mukherjee, S., Sekar, K.C. (2023). Seasonal Variation of Ecosystem Fluxes of a Himalayan Banj-Oak-Dominated Vegetation. In: Sharma, S., Kuniyal, J.C., Chand, P., Singh, P. (eds) Climate Change Adaptation, Risk Management and Sustainable Practices in the Himalaya. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24659-3_13
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